


Rhythm

by Echo_S1



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: F/M, Inspired by Music, M/M, Musical References, Ninjago AU, Original Universe, Performing Arts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-07 05:09:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20303971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Echo_S1/pseuds/Echo_S1
Summary: Cole has felt like he never belonged. Why? Because of his Rhythm. Because of it, he can never be one with the Forcers, those that have fallen under Garmadon's influence. But, Voices, those that are like him, never leave their own behind. But, when he joins a group of Voices by the name of The Elements, and another calls out to them, can he accept the risk of helping this stranger? Will he risk his family, his life, and his power, to bring this Voice home? What happens when this Voice reveals themself, and they aren't what they seem? Is the risk truly greater than the reward, or is it just the opposite?





	1. Crescendo

**Chapter 1: Crescendo**

“Rhythm is what drives life. Rhythm in our steps, rhythm in our minds, and rhythm in our hearts. Rhythm drives everything.” that is what the first Voice said. The first Voice wished harmony in the lands he created, sharing them among the people he met while he traveled them. He wished to hear the sound the people created: either in worship or not.

In response, the Voices hidden in the crowds called back with melodies so strong it shook the first to his core. His heart was warm, knowing that his gift was well accepted and treasured by the world he’d created.

When the time came for him to settle, his own rhythm fading note by note, he split his power between his two sons. Wu was younger: born from a rhythm of pure light and warmth. Wu happily accepted his father’s dear gift, hoping to share it with the people his father so treasured. But, his brother Lord wished to experiment with his father’s power. He wanted to be worshipped as a god, as he believed his father should have been.

Wu disapproved of his thoughts greatly, and chose to go on a journey across his father’s lands, leaving Lord far behind. Now isolated, it didn’t take long into Lord’s troublesome attempts before he discovered what he’d been searching for.

He dubbed it the Control rhythm: a rhythm that warped the minds of whoever listened into doing exactly what you wished. Taking his chance and rising to a position of power, he used his influence to spread the Control rhythm to the far corners of the world. He ordered it played on radios, TV’s, phones, speakers and whatever else a human would listen to. Instantly, he became the most popular, the most respected, and worshipped unlike any other.

People on the streets conformed to his rules all too easily, accepting dress codes and work qualifications as if it was common law. Though it seemed as if Lord was doing much good for the cities and towns, he was seeping the life out of the people. No music, no color in public, no outrageous behavior. Be on time, do as much work as possible, get good schooling. And the people followed his rules in a trance.

They followed the Control rhythm’s tones to work, school, lunch, home, and whatever place they went. There was no escape. Everyone was the same, no variation was allowed. The streets were clear of trash, and few criminals existed. People lived the seemingly happy lives they had, under the hypnosis of the Control rhythm, everywhere they went.

Years down the road, Lord noticed the sheer absence of his brother’s Voices amongst the crowds of people walking the streets of the cities he now towered above. It seemed as if Wu’s influence had vanished from the world. Had his brother vanished, or perhaps, _ died _ ? Lord tuned out the feelings of regret in his cold heart, smiling to himself.

The only rhythm the people of the world needed was _ his _. They only needed the Control rhythm to feel complete. As long as they followed it, he’d be satisfied with his power.


	2. Cadenza

**Chapter 2: Cadenza**

For as long as Cole Hence could remember, which was pretty far back, he never found an example where he fit into society. In school, at work, at home, in public: he was always out of place. He tried his best to do what everyone else did, but he couldn’t do it the same way, with the same perfection, with the same motion, with the same timing. He just _ wasn’t _ the same, and he knew it.

He felt like the Control rhythm, the stupid song he always listened to, never had any effect on him.

He felt alone watching the rest of the world scurrying around him on the sidewalk or scarfing down their lunches in the restaurants. His heart panged with longing for synchronicity. He wanted to _ belong _ .

But, where was he to find his place in a world of nothing but dull echoes of color, when he is a glowing beacon himself?

Searching brought him no luck, until an elderly man approached him one day, seemingly with the same fate as him. The man was kind and understanding, and knew people who were similar to him in condition. After searching for so long and yielding no results, this old man suddenly had him becoming friends with _ five _ different Voices. They called themselves “the Elements”: a group of Voices that traveled around to different cities and performed using their own unique rhythms, upsetting the hypnosis of the Control rhythm to bring the people of Ninjago back to life. The second they understood that he was a Voice, they accepted him, taking a liking to his own uniqueness.

The group began with Jay and Nya: Jay being a redheaded Lightning rhythm with freckles along his usually pink cheeks who favors the color blue, and Nya being a beautiful Water rhythm (and Jay’s girlfriend) who favors the color pink. Kai and Lloyd learned to like him later, after having some comforting conversations and sharing some good memories: Kai being Nya’s hotheaded brother and a Fire rhythm who favors the color red, and Lloyd the blonde child-like Life rhythm who favors green.

Cole honestly owed Wu, the elderly Light rhythm who favors grey, everything for drawing him to the group. Wu had taken a liking to Cole’s own Earth rhythm, and his uncanny love for the color black, advocating his entry into the group the first twenty minutes he’d met the members. Together, the group made one of the strongest around, being that several dozen Voice groups were in the country at a time.

Voices had to keep in contact in case they were separated or caught, being that performing as a Voice was illegal in the lands of Ninjago. Personally, Cole loved the feeling of performing in front of dozens of people at their underground concerts. The rush of feeling free and syncing with other people who felt the same way was intoxicating. In order to perform together, Voices can blend their rhythms by syncing. Naturally, Voices can project holographic equipment to use either as instruments, lighting, set design, or whatever else they might need, but it all depends on their rhythm. Syncing allows them to gain more control over their rhythm, and blend it together with another Voice’s rhythm so they can create a song, melody, or sound, which is more than they can create as individuals.

Syncing is similar to sharing a body with those you sync to, depending on how high your sync percentage gets. You feel, hear, and see everything they can. Syncing at a high percentage can also mean two Voices are in love, or “meant to be”. However, syncing two rhythms can also be impossible sometimes, due to the fact that normal syncing is extremely difficult in itself. Jay and Nya do it just fine, to the point where they developed a relationship surrounding it. Cole himself can’t sync past forty percent, unlike Jay and Nya’s forty six, and Kai with his girlfriend Skylor’s fifty two.

Being that Kai and Skylor had such a high percentage, they often remained in contact, checking in frequently with each other. Skylor worked in Europe, where he met her in London, performing with another group called “the Heartbeats”.

Off the top of his head, Cole didn’t happen to know how many groups existed in the lands of Ninjago, but it had to be at least twenty, usually about six members. Keeping the numbers small meant easy movement, and easy avoidance of Hunters.

Hunters are humanoid robots built to hunt down Voices and kill them when they’re isolated from the crowds. Cole remembered walking in on a kill in a public bathroom at a park: the Hunter just slashing away at the body until the man lie dead and bleeding at its feet. He could have barfed right then and there, but the Hunter turned and looked at him, like it was expecting him to walk away. And he _ did _ . He walked away, and hasn’t used that bathroom since. The memory of that almost-human face, with its cold grey eyes burning holes into his chest, its bladed fingers dripping with the blood of its most recent kill. It looked as if it was going to smile at him, but it didn’t. If it _ had _ , he would’ve had a heart attack. If one were really looking, they could pick out Hunters from a crowd of humans right away. They were built taller, more muscular, and with frighteningly intimidating bodies. Kai had been fortunate enough to escape several encounters with them, but it was wise to take caution.

During performances, the group uses holographic masks that display whatever element you represent, the glowing symbol covering your entire face. Cole is Earth, Nya is Water, Lloyd is Life, Kai is Fire, Jay is Lightning, and Wu is Guardian. Each element represented who they were in turn, inspiring fans to guess their true identities during each performance.

Unfortunately, using a rhythm also creates a trackable series of soundwaves that acts like a signal. The signal can be used to locate Voices on local devices, and forces Voices to travel frequently or be discovered in the process of performing. However, the Elements have a safe haven underground in a subway tunnel, hidden far from Hunters and disguised from the world as a simple maintenance tunnel hatch. The station had been abandoned hundreds of years ago since the new bullet train was developed, leaving the Voices to set up a very comfortable home in the area, complete with transport tunnels and easy exits.

Even better, Jay had developed a series of signal blockers for each Voice to carry, hiding their signals in public, if they were forced to use them. Cole currently sat in his bedroom, checking his sync bar on his wrist. Hearing a knock on his door, he glanced up to see Kai at the door frame. “Hey.” the teen greeted, clad in all red with a cocky smile on his face.

“You look happy. Everything alright?” Cole asked, patting the bed so Kai could sit down beside him.

“Yeah, actually. Skylor’s doing great. She said she got some great responses to her performance in Germany last night.” Kai answered as he sat on the bed.

“That’s good. Performing with music like hers isn’t easy. I’m happy that those people like it so much.” Cole replied.

“Yeah.” Kai answered, glancing down at the Earth rhythm’s sync bar. The sync bar was basically a small bar on a any Ninjagan’s wrist that could be touched to bring up a holographic screen displaying the numerous people they managed to sync with, if any. Cole watched Kai bite his lip, seemingly nervous.

“I’ve been checking my sync bar a lot more recently, but it doesn’t seem like our percents have gotten any higher.” the Fire rhythm stated.

“I think it’s a good idea if they stay low, you know? We wouldn’t want to base our love lives off our sync bars. Several of mine have actually dropped recently, but I’m not worried. We’ll always be friends, Kai, so don’t worry about that.” Cole replied.

“I’m just worried that we might be losing our abilities. If we can’t sync anymore, then what do we have?” Kai asked, nervously.

Cole stood up and firmly hugged the Fire rhythm. “We’ve got each other. We were friends before we even synced the first time, remember? You can’t give up on good old friendship, Kai.” Cole answered.

“That’s true. Oh, Jay’s about ready to move out, by the way. I thought I’d let you know. Remember where we’re going tonight?” Kai asked.

“Yeah, that bar on tenth, right?” Cole asked back. Kai nodded, smirking.

“Still sharp as ever. Jay’s almost got the shipment together, too. He’s busting his ass on it, and Nya’s helping him, but I’m trying to keep my fingers away from the buttons.” Kai replied.

“We don’t want to get between Jay and Nya and their stuff.” Cole agreed happily.

“I hope he’s not overworking himself on those blockers. The other groups need them, but if he’s working _ too _ hard, I might have to get Nya to drag his ass to bed one of these nights.” Kai chuckled lightheartedly.

“He just wants to protect everyone, Kai. There’s a lot of people who need them, and he’s taking on that responsibility. I’ll be out in five, I’m just checking my equipment.” Cole replied, watching Kai head towards the door.

“Got it.” Kai tossed over his shoulder as he left the room. Cole went over his equipment in his holographic band again, checking to make sure it was all organized and clean.

‘You did this before, plenty of times. You can sure as hell do it again.’ he reminded himself silently, heading out into the living room. 


	3. Ensemble

**Chapter 3: Ensemble**

Cole donned his mask backstage, the familiar glow of the golden mountain blocking his face from the view of any audience members wishing to see who he really was. The mask really did help calm his nerves, the smoothness of the black cloth like a blanket around his face and neck as he slipped it on. He had put on his signature black sleeveless t-shirt and black jeans awhile ago, completing his look.

The group had selected a bar in the heart of Ninjago City, a little risky for their popularity but well worth it for the fans, hoping to draw lots of attention to the business and their music. The bartender had thanked them for coming the second they walked in the door, clearly expecting a good performance. Dozens of people had already packed into the large space, intent on listening to the wondrous tunes from the very first note.

Jay set up a blocker behind the stage, each member also carrying a handheld one for cautionary purposes, the teen giving a thumbs up when the familiar quiet buzz of the device began to whirr through the area. Cole nodded to Kai, who cut the lights, directing them towards the stage.

Taking a deep breath, the Earth Element walked out onto the stage, clad completely in black, his muscular form illuminated by the single circular light at the back of the flat wooden surface. Moving to stand in the center of the light, he projected his holographic drum set onto the stage in front of himself, sitting at it. The glow of the drums calmed his beating heart, the crowd eagerly awaiting his first move. As an Earth rhythm, his most common instrument was the drums, due to his serious ability to lay out good beats.

He watched four other lights turn on in a square pattern in front of him, Kai, Jay, Nya, and Lloyd standing in the center of each circle. Together, their positions formed a star, Cole the uppermost point. He looked to Kai, who nodded at him reassuringly. Beginning the song with a steady beat, Kai jumped in with some deep vocals: 

** _Kai: “_ ** ** _I'm better, so much better now_ **

** _I see the lights touch the light_ **

** _We're together now_ **

** _I'm better, so much better now_ **

** _Look to the skies_ **

** _Give me life_ **

** _We're together now.”_ **

** _All Boys: “We've only just begun_ **

** _Hypnotized by drums_ **

** _Until forever comes_ **

** _You'll find us chasing the sun.”_ **

** _Nya: “They said this day wouldn't come_ **

** _We refused to run_ **

** _We've only just begun_ **

** _You'll find us chasing the sun.”_ **

** _All: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh_ **

** _Oh oh oh oh oh oh_ **

** _Oh oh oh oh oh oh!”_ **

** _Kai: “You'll find us chasing the sun.” (All: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh.”)_ **

** _All: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh_ **

** _Oh oh oh oh oh oh_ **

** _Oh oh oh oh oh oh!”_ **

** _Lloyd: “You'll find us chasing the sun.” (All: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh.”)_ **

** _All Boys: “When the daylight's fading_ **

** _We're gonna play in the dark_ **

** _Till it's golden again_ **

** _And now it feels so amazing_ **

** _Can't see you coming_ **

** _And we'll never grow old again.”_ **

** _Kai: “You'll find us chasing the sun.”_ **

** _Nya: “I'm never, I'm never down_ **

** _Lying here, staring up_ **

** _And you're looking down_ **

** _I'm never, I'm never down_ **

** _Live forever, forever_ **

** _With you around.”_ **

** _All: “We've only just begun_ **

** _Hypnotized by drums_ **

** _Until forever comes_ **

** _You'll find us chasing the sun.”_ **

** _Nya: “They said this day wouldn't come_ **

** _We refused to run_ **

** _We've only just begun_ **

** _You'll find us chasing the sun.”_ **

** _Jay: “The sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun,_ **

** _You'll find us chasing the sun.”_ **

** _All: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh_ **

** _Oh oh oh oh oh oh_ **

** _Oh oh oh oh oh oh!”_ **

** _Kai: “You'll find us chasing the sun.”_ **

** _All: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh_ **

** _Oh oh oh oh oh oh_ **

** _Oh oh oh oh oh oh!”_ **

** _Lloyd: “You'll find us chasing the sun.”_ **

** _All Boys: “When the daylight's fading_ **

** _We're gonna play in the dark_ **

** _Till it's golden again_ **

** _And now it feels so amazing_ **

** _Can't see you coming_ **

** _And we'll never grow old again.”_ **

** _Lloyd: “You'll find us chasing the sun.”_ **

** _All: “Oh oh oh.” (Cole: “Chasing the sun.”)_ **

** _All: “Oh oh oh oh.” (Cole: “Chasing the sun.”)_ **

** _All: “Oh oh oh.” (Cole: “You'll find us chasing the sun.”)_ **

** _All: “Oh oh oh oh.”_ **

** _Kai: “You'll find us chasing the sun.”_ **

** _Nya: “When the daylight's fading,” (All: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh.”)_ **

** _Nya: “We're gonna play in the dark,” (All: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh.”)_ **

** _Nya: “Till it's golden again” (All: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh.”)_ **

** _All Boys: “And now it feels so amazing,” (Nya: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh.”)_ **

** _Nya: “Can't see you coming,” (All: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh.”)_ **

** _Nya: “And we'll never grow old again.” (All: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh.”)_ **

** _Nya: “You'll find us chasing the sun.”_ **

** _All: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh.” (Cole: “Oh oh oh.”)_ **

** _All: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh.” (Cole: “Oh oh oh.”)_ **

** _All: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh.” (Cole: “Oh oh oh.”)_ **

** _Lloyd: “You'll find us chasing the sun.”_ **

** _All: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh.” (Cole: “Oh oh oh.”)_ **

** _All: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh.” (Cole: “Oh oh oh.”)_ **

** _All: “Oh oh oh oh oh oh.” (Cole: “Oh oh oh.”)_ **

** _All: “You'll find us chasing the sun!”_ **

The moment Cole’s drum beats ended, the whole bar went up in noise: laughter, applause, and cheers. Each member of the Elements took a bow in turn, congratulating each other on a job well done.

Taking song requests was another part of the agenda, so the teens ended up with a full plate of seven more performances throughout the night. When things were cooling down, the bartender gestured for the teens to join him at the empty shots counter.

“You folks did a mighty fine job of performing tonight. I should thank you, for drawing so much business my way. I haven’t had this much fun in decades.” the mustached man smiled happily.

“Not a problem, sir. We do it for the fun, and the fans. Say, can I order a soda? I’m a little thirsty.” Cole asked, pulling out his wallet. Their performances also came with a huge benefit: lots of money made. It usually came up to around two to three hundred apiece during each show.

“It’s on the house, kid. Anything alcohol-free. Same for your friends.” the bartender offered.

“Can I get a root beer?” Kai asked, sitting down beside Cole.

“No problem, son. Just a moment.” the man said, turning to prepare the drink.

Cole glanced at the red clad teen, sensing a little uneasiness about him. “What’s up?” he asked, Kai turning to him.

“Skylor called after the performance. She said Ash almost got caught because they had to scram, all because a certain asshole couldn’t appreciate their music. The ass spilled the beans to the cops, and sent the whole group running. She said _ two _ hunters were on him, and he somehow managed to get away. He said he used a smoke bomb, then took them out. Should I be worried?” Kai explained.

“She’s smart, Kai. If she felt like she was in danger, she’s welcome here with us. Plus, she wouldn’t want to leave you alone with someone like me, as much as you like to vent.” Cole joked.

“It just makes me nervous, you know? I can’t stop thinking about-” Kai began before Cole cut him off.

“Don’t. Don’t go there. What we do is dangerous, you know that. You are a _ badass _, and so is she. Don’t let yourself think less of her.” Cole scolded quietly.

“I just want to protect her. I feel like it’s my duty, as a boyfriend.” Kai protested, pulling an image of Skylor from his pocket. It was an old-style polaroid, taken of the young woman in front of a waterfall. Cole watched Kai smile fondly at the image before looking to him.

“She sent me this just this morning. She said she missed me, and wanted to find some way to come and see me. I didn’t know what to tell her, so I just called her up and told her I love the picture and I missed her, too.” Kai explained, letting Cole hold the picture.

Skylor’s long red hair and dark brown eyes were something the Fire rhythm adored, and constantly boasted about. He was proud to have a girlfriend, especially someone like Skylor.

“I don’t know what it’s like to be in love, but I’m sure you get feelings like this. You get scared, you want to protect your loved ones. But, there are also times when you need to step back. If she wants to come see you, let her. If it’s too dangerous, and you think so, let her know.” Cole explained.

The duo turned around, looking at the multiple dancing women about the large room. Their attention was drawn to a small group of blondes in the back, of which were clamoring all over Lloyd. “Looks like Lloyd’s in trouble. Better go play the hero.” Kai chuckled, sliding off his seat and casually strolling over to the women.

Upon laying eyes on the brunette, the women became infatuated with him, leaving the young blonde Life Element alone for the time being. “Ladies, what’re you swarming my buddy for?” Kai asked innocently, beginning a casual conversation with the ladies. Cole snickered as Lloyd only sunk into the couch he sat on, trying to vanish from view.

‘He’s such an attention-seeking hothead.’ Cole thought to himself, taking a sip of his drink.


	4. Atonal

**Chapter 4: Atonal**

Cole awoke the next morning in bed, somewhat well-rested and satisfied with the previous night’s work. The group had a total of eight hundred dollars as their earnings, splitting it between themselves with the majority going to their master, Wu. Though the old man insisted they owed him nothing, they still felt they owed him a debt for bringing them together and protecting them all this time.

After throwing on some simple clothes, Cole headed out into the living room to find Jay at the head monitor, furiously typing codes into the black screen.

Supposedly, the Lightning rhythm was setting a mobile system to detect Voices, Hunters, and unidentified signals, most of which would eventually be tagged as either Cs or unknowns. Therefore, the Elements could warn another group if they were in danger. Jay took up a small switch in his hand, flipping it on. The monitor lit up with a map of the entire globe on a two dimensional design, hundreds of small dots appearing on its surface.

“Nicely done, Jay.” Cole congratulated quietly.

“Oh, I’m not done yet.” Jay replied, hands flying across the keyboard. He typed a series of very complex codes into the monitor’s command prompt, before saving them and closing out.

“It should take a few minutes to single out the Cs and the Voices, and then we’ll do a sweep and identify any hunters and anything that hasn’t been id’d yet.” He explained.

“So, will they be colored coded or something else?” Kai asked as he stepped into the room from the kitchen, a cup of tea in his hand.

“The red dots will be hunters, green will be Voices, and Cs will be grey. Anything unidentified will be black.” Nya explained.

As the map began to weed out the different types of Voices and bunch the Cs (or Controllers, people who fall under the Control rhythm) together, the screen changed a myriad of colors. Eventually, it settled on a superiority of grey, with a little green, and even more red mixed in. There didn’t appear to be any hunters in their area, so Cole let out the breath he was holding. He was scanning the map when his eyes caught on a small black dot hovering by itself towards the uppermost part of the map.

“There’s a black dot there.” he stated, pointing to it.

Nya moved to identify it, using a series of tags and commands. “It’s probably just a member of one of the other groups that broke away and the computer hasn’t registered them yet.” she reasoned, clicking through several menus on the screen.

A small tag appeared by the dot, black with white letters so it was easily read: 

NAME: UNKNOWN

STATUS: UNKNOWN

CORRELATION: UNKNOWN

TYPE: UNKNOWN

SIGNAL STRENGTH: STRONG

LOCATION: 112 H DISTRICT

“Could it be a trap signal? That area doesn’t have much in it besides hunters at this point.” Kai reasoned, raising an eyebrow.

“Why would hunters use a trap signal in a district so destroyed? Nobody would be drawn to check it out.” Jay argued.

“True, but hunters _ can’t _ emit a signal, of any kind.” Kai replied. Jay turned back to the keyboard, typing feverishly while the others discussed the signal.

“There’s no chance that it _ is _ someone. Everybody out there died in the attack.” Lloyd stated as he sat on the couch.

“Yeah, but a full-clearance worm didn’t clear it. So, it has to be _ something _ . We just don’t know _ what _ .” Nya explained.

“Guys, it’s mimicking one of us.” Jay suddenly said from the monitor.

“What?” Cole asked, confused.

“It’s mimicking a Voice’s signal.” Jay rephrased, expanding the graphs of the signal he was tracing.

“It’s not constant, but it’s still acting like one of us. It’s transmitting a signal using its rhythm.” Jay explained, gesturing to the graphs.

“What the hell does that mean?” Kai asked, annoyed by the tech talk.

“It’s using its rhythm to communicate. Jay thinks it’s trying to get in contact with someone.” Nya explained.

A sudden wave of cold washed over Cole’s body, making him shiver instinctually at the sensation. “You okay, Cole?” Kai asked, having seen the rather large teen just shake to his core.

“Y-yeah. I think I’m okay. I just need to sit down.” Cole replied, moving to sit on the couch. It felt like his head was spinning, like he was sick but wasn’t sick, but really _ was _ sick. It was confusing. Why was he so cold? He couldn’t think.

Glancing down at his arm to see if there was an outside source, he caught sight of the sync bar on his wrist going crazy. Opening up the display, he quickly scanned over it before noting that someone, or _ something _ was trying to sync with him, their sync bar bouncing all the way up to one hundred percent and back down to zero in the course of just a few seconds.

Squinting, he tried to read the name associated with the sync bar: Z4N3. “Guys? Something’s wrong here.” the Earth rhythm stated, gesturing to his sync display.

“Holy shit!” Nya cried, moving to grab her phone, filming the phenomenon.

“This is insane! I’ve never seen something like this before!” Jay cried, taking notes on the readings with a notepad.

“I’m not feeling too good.” Cole stated, beginning to get dizzy.

“Is anything else happening to you? Can you hear anything out of bounds? Sense anything?” Kai asked, concerned.

“I’m cold. _ Really _ cold.” Cole replied, looking back to the map on the monitor.

“Whatever this is, it’s trying to contact us, probably through Cole.” Lloyd reasoned.

“Yeah. That makes me wonder if it’s really a Voice or not.” Jay replied.

“There’s a name here. I can’t read it.” Cole explained, gesturing to the small name-tag just below the crazy sync bar.

Nya and Jay leaned down, examining it. “Zane, huh? Interesting. It’s encoded with a number algorithm, so whoever’s trying to contact us knows a lot about programming and computers.” Jay noted, turning back to the monitor. Cole dizzily watched the redhead type more commands into the console, his consciousness slipping away more and more by the second.

“The location hasn’t changed. I’m going to pull up a map of the area and get a direct location. Maybe a building search will pull up some different results.” Nya explained, turning away from him.

With that, Cole dozed off, falling limp on the couch. If the signal was a trap, he’d be responsible for putting his family at risk. They were all he had, and as much as he loved them, he didn’t want to risk their safety. On the other hand, Zane had reached out to _ him _, and that was something he couldn’t ignore.


	5. Form

**Chapter 5: Form**

He awoke to Jay and Kai’s fierce arguing behind the couch, their heated voices loud in his ears. Lifting his head from the armrest of the couch, he noted that the cold he felt was gone, which made him feel much more comfortable.

“It’s the same damn address, Kai! If this _ is _ a hacker, they’re not even _ trying _ to hide! If this is a Voice, they’ve just given up their location to anyone in the area! It’s _ too _ dangerous to go after them!” Jay snapped angrily.

“I get that, but if it’s someone like us, we’ve got to protect them, as part of our _ family _ ! We can’t leave them out there all alone!” Kai hissed back.

“Guys, come on. Just talk, don’t shout. Cole’s passed out over there.” Lloyd pleaded quietly between them.

“I’m not arguing my point to an idiot who chooses a stranger over his own family!” Jay snapped in reply.

“Jay! That was _ too _ far! You crossed the line! You _ know _ how Kai feels about us.” Nya exclaimed, smacking her boyfriend on the shoulder scoldingly.

Standing up, Cole noted all eyes shifting towards him, Jay turning away guiltily. “Sorry. Did we wake you up?” he asked shyly.

“No, come sit down, guys.” Cole replied, gesturing to the various furniture scattered about the room. The Earth Element turned to Jay first, considering his opinion. “I understand where you’re coming from, Jay, I really do. We’re all we’ve got. But, shunning someone else because we’re not sure if they’re really out there isn’t right.” Cole began.

“I can’t be sure that this person is real, Cole, and that scares me.” Jay replied.

“Kai does have a point, though. We _ need _ to be sure, and if the only way to do that is by ground force, then we do it that way. Since Zane contacted me, I’ll go to the location on my hoverbike, fair?” Cole offered.

“I’ll go with you. Your rhythm weapon can’t handle too many hunters at one time. There’s bound to be a lot of hunters out there, since that was the main production sector. If they get close enough, I’ll melt their asses.” Kai vowed.

“If you do that, then Nya and I can stay here with Lloyd and monitor with a drone and surveillance maps. Having a team on the ground is good, but a team on the net is better.” Jay reasoned.

“Good idea.” Cole replied, nodding in agreement.

Jay reached into his pocket and produced a pair of earbuds, handing them to Kai and Cole. “Think of these like com devices. We can hear you, and you can hear us.” he explained.

“Got it.” Kai nodded.

Lloyd led the duo off to the garage, setting them up on their hoverbikes. “Don’t go tricking without me, okay? I don’t want to be missing the fun stuff.” the blonde pouted.

“We promise we won’t, Lloyd.” Cole grinned, patting the youth on the shoulder. Their bikes were built for speed, because when the time came for fast getaways, they had to zoom to escape the hunters.

“I improved the engine function on Kai’s bike, so it’s quieter than a bee when you’re going down the roads.” Lloyd explained, gesturing to the engine he’d installed on the crimson bike.

“Thanks, bro. I owe you an upgrade.” Kai replied, smiling giddily.

“Get out there and see what’s up, guys. I’ll be manning the drone, so I’ll see it all.” Lloyd explained.

“Got it. Let us know if anything closes in on us.” Cole nodded, pulling his bike out onto the railway.

Turning it on, the familiar sound of the growling engine made his heart skip a beat. “See you later!” Kai called as the duo sped down the track and entered the city. The roads were quiet, making for quick passage throughout the area until they reached the damaged sector.

Hanari was marked for demolition, since Garmadon had launched an attack on the entire sector, sending in bombs, droids, and hunters to kill anyone and everyone on sight. The news had caught the destruction in huge stories, but failed to mention the true cause of the slaughter. Hundreds of people had died, all because of a mistake on the science department’s part. They’d said that coming into contact with a Voice was contagious, and to stop the spread was as easy as killing people. They treated Voices like a plague, when in reality, being a Voice happened at random. It wasn't a disease, it was a gift.

Driving next to each other as they sped throughout the city, the glimmer of the clean city streets slowly faded away to reveal the demolished district known as Hanari. The rubble from the industrial sector littered the streets, making them usually difficult to traverse. But, for hoverbikes or boards, it was a breeze, and usually quite fun. The area had been entirely abandoned a long time ago, save for scavengers looking for free parts to use in their own little projects, due to the Hunter Production Facilities that had sprung up on the grounds. Nobody knew if the facilities were still in use, but given the creepy silence of the area and the growing plant and animal life, there was a very low chance of that.

Thanks to Lloyd’s upgrades, the duo sped through much of the district, barely glancing at the rusted playgrounds, collapsing skyscrapers, skeletons on the streets, or abandoned automobiles. The place was depressing to be in, and it weighed heavily on Cole’s heart to know what actually happened here. The duo were using a holographic map projected onto their bikes, using that to navigate the sign-lacking streets, since nothing seemed to be easily identifiable. Their destination was a factory of some kind, surrounded on all sides by a series of collapsed skyscrapers, blocking their entrance and exit. The skyscrapers had formed a triangular pattern in collapsing, however leaving three huge smokestacks protruding from the main factory high into the air. As Cole guessed, the factory was almost entirely made of metal on the outside, preventing it from taking heavy damage in Garmadon’s artillery attack on the district, and allowing it to continue standing even with the added weight of the surrounding buildings.

Parking outside, Kai pulled a pair of flashlights from his bag, handing one to Cole. “Stick close and let me know if you need to look at something.” Cole requested, Kai nodding in agreement.

Together, they slipped through a window of the first fallen skyscraper, finding the main doors of the factory just inside. It looked as if the impact of the building had blown the doors off their hinges, leaving them crumpled on the ground. The duo flipped on their flashlights, initiating their slow walk throughout the interior of the darkened factory, tracking the signal as they went.

“Hey, we’re in your ear if you need us, guys.” Jay whispered from the earpiece in Cole’s ear, signalling a good connection.

“Got it. Thanks, guys. Kai, you copy?” Cole asked, turning to the hothead.

“Copy that.” Kai replied behind him, nodding to confirm.

As they walked, Kai’s hand was resting on the handle of his sword, ready to draw at the first sign of danger. The place was strangely quiet, the sounds of their footsteps echoing along the empty halls. The building seemed to stretch for a mile in every direction, save the one they’d just entered. Progress was slow, but it was better to be safe rather than sorry.

“This place is a mess.” Kai commented as they passed several large piles of rubble and a few broken workbenches.

“Yeah, it’s been trashed. But, it’s still standing. I wouldn’t blame whoever contacted me for taking cover here.” Cole replied.

Their progress began to near a particular workbench series along the wall, just before the main production room. One of the workbenches caught Cole’s attention, being that it was dimly lit by a broken circular window. The small area looked almost comforting, yet sinister, for some reason. A skeleton lie on the worktable, the person possibly having lied down just before dying. He bent down to look over it, identifying it as an elderly man, probably working as a scientist in the building.

An ID keycard was clipped to his breast pocket on his dirty lab coat, his caring smile reflecting a parent-like personality. “Doctor Aster Julien, Head Robotics Engineer, for Garmadon Enterprizes.” Cole said aloud, Kai leaning over to glance at the body.

“He looks pretty old to be working in a place like this.” Kai commented.

“Yeah, pretty old.” Cole replied.

A busted artillery shell lie on the floor, the shrapnel having impaled itself into the wall and workbench, most likely being the cause of the man’s death. “Hey, Cole? Nya pulled up blueprints for the factory you’re in. That’s Hunter Production Facility Number 12. It shut down a while ago, but the Hunter shells within it could still be active. Keep an eye out for shells moving house, alright?” Jay warned.

“Got it.” Cole replied.

“Oh, and the signal seems to be just in front of you. I think it’s somewhere in that workbench.” Nya added.

“Got it, thanks sis.” Kai replied.

Kai searched the toolboxes for anything of use for the inventors while Cole meagerly went through the drawers of the workstation, nervous because of the dead body just beside them. Most of the drawers were disorganized, their contents scattered about in the blast from the artillery shell. As he searched for anything of use, he found a small box. The box was metallic, but not designed to be a safe. Picking it up, Cole found a strange symbol he’d never seen before etched into the surface. Opening it, he discovered a small device.

Turning around, Cole noticed the note in the skeleton’s hands, along with the picture. The note was the first thing that interested him, so he quickly skimmed through the rushed handwriting for anything of importance:

_ I know you’ve come looking for me, but I cannot answer your questions. All four production cores are overreacting to the energy you’re emitting as I write this. You’re strong, my boy, so much stronger than I could have ever imagined. I’m hiding in my workspace as I write this, dying my one of the shells he’s sent upon my people. That monster killed you because you were stronger than he could have ever imagined, and he feared you. He tried to dispose of something greater than himself, and that makes him weak. He found out what I am, a Voice, and by deduction, he found out that you were one, too. You were too precious to me, I couldn’t lose you, my boy. I’m sorry if you don’t like what I did, but I did it to protect you. I couldn’t let another bastard like him hurt you again. Remember this: you are ALIVE. Don’t forget that. Ask for help, my boy, don’t be afraid to. Someone will come, I promise. I love you, my son. Goodbye. _

_ ~Doctor A. Julien _

Cole’s stomach clenched at the thought of the man’s son being killed by a prick like Garmadon. Pocketing the note, he examined the device in the box, Kai looking at it over his shoulder. The device was composed of a central orb no bigger than a marble, pulsing a dim cyan, with three thin silvery rings around it. The rings didn’t seem to be attached by anything, possibly magnetic instead, but they could rotate in a circular motion around it.

“Hey, that’s an armillary sphere. Nice find.” Kai complemented, patting Cole’s shoulder.

“What’s an armillary sphere?” Cole asked, confused.

“Think of it like a never-ending engine. The rings rotate around the ball to produce energy, pushed by magnetic attraction to continue rotating until an outside force stops them.” Kai explained.

“How’d you learn that?” Cole asked, raising an eyebrow at the hothead.

“Jay likes to teach. Sometimes the lessons _ are _ cool.” Kai replied with a smirk.

The teen turned to examine the image in the skeleton’s hand, eyes searching over the clearest picture he’d ever seen. The image was of a young boy, seemingly uninterested in having his picture taken, maybe eighteen years old. His skin was pale, his hair was spiked and blonde, his face was thin and long, his lips were small, and his eyes were large and cyan. ‘Cyan, the same color as the armillary sphere.’ Cole pondered, flipping the image over. On the back read a single name, smudged in dried blood: _ Zane Proto Julien _ .

Glancing over the rest of the desk, Cole found the blueprints for a new Hunter model the doctor had been working on, quickly tucking them into his pocket for safekeeping. The blueprints looked as if they’d been modified considerably from the original design, made to look a certain way and move in another. A smudge of blood drew his attention back to the desk drawer, splattered across the handle but pooling inside the drawer, like it’d been open when the blood had been spilled. Opening the drawer and running his hands along the interior, his fingers caught on a secret board, slowly pulling it up.

A series of small items sat inside: a bottle of pills, a gun, and a necklace. ‘Could it be a coincidence?’ Cole pondered silently, turning his attention to the necklace in the drawer. Picking it up, he examined the attachment: a USB stick. Kai’s hand on his shoulder startled him out of his thoughts, causing the teen to turn around and face his brother.

“I’ve got what I need. I think we can keep going, if you want.” Kai stated, glancing down at the picture in Cole’s hand.

“I’m ready. I just found some weird stuff in this guy’s desk, that’s all.” Cole replied, pocketing the USB necklace and the armillary sphere.

Together, the two walked up to the massive metal door blocking their entry into the main production room, examining the surface for any weaknesses. Pressing their hands against it, both using their weight to shove hard. They were sent flying forward as the doors gave way, the teens sprawling awkwardly onto their stomachs. Hefting themselves onto their feet, they glanced around the room. The place was filled with hunter shells, dead and unmoving. Most were torn to hell and leaking biofluid, as if they died in the explosions.

Cole’s attention was drawn to a large circular window at the front of the room, its broken surface casting heavenly light down on a pedestal. The pedestal was embedded into the floor, standing at about waist height, a pulsing blue handprint scanner in the center of its slanted top. Carefully, Cole walked up to the pedestal on the raised floor, eyeing the scanner. “Project ZANE.” he read aloud, Kai moving to stand beside him.

“You gonna put your hand on the scanner or what?” Kai asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Maybe, I mean, it could be linked to an alarm.” Cole reasoned.

“Hold on.” Kai said, walking away. He returned with a skeleton’s hand, holding it up to the scanner. The scanner ran over the hand, accepting the handprint.

“Perfect. Who did you rip that off?” Cole asked, smirking.

“The business-looking guy over by the production line.” Kai explained.

They watched in silence as a ball, about the size of a grapefruit, raised from the floor on another pillar, surrounded on all sides by blue electricity.

“This is weird.” Kai stated, staring at the silvery, metallic looking orb through the electrical field.

“What?” Cole asked.

“This is a Hunter Production Facility. That doctor, A. Julien or whatever, was working on a new model. He died in the explosions in the genocide. Wouldn’t somebody have come for his project by now?” Kai reasoned.

Cole thought for a second, processing the information. “Well, the doctor lost his son, because Garmadon killed him. The doctor was a Voice, too. So, Garmadon killed the doctor’s son to keep him in line, but let him keep working in the facility. The doctor’s son’s name is Zane Proto Julien. This project’s name is ZANE. I think the doctor was rebuilding his son. He was a robotics expert, so we can’t rule that out.” Cole reasoned.

“So, Garmadon kills the son, the doctor rebuilds him as a new project, Garmadon approves of the project, and sends his goons to kill the doctor because he’s a Voice, but forgets the project?” Kai finalized.

“Yeah, something’s not right about this.” Cole answered.

They turned their attention back to the orb in front of them, its silvery surface like a taunt to steal it away. Feeling movement in his pocket, Cole pulled out the small armillary sphere. The ball at the center was glowing a bright cyan, the rings spinning quicker and quicker in the presence of the orb. Hearing a hiss in front of him, the duo watched as the front of the orb opened to reveal a hole the size of the armillary sphere. Something in Cole’s mind was telling him to deactivate the electrical field and give it to the orb, but the other half was screaming danger.

‘How could a ball hurt us? It’s just a ball.’ he repeated to himself, trying to calm his racing heart.

“Hey, guys? The signal’s getting stronger! What’s going on there?” Jay asked, concerned.

“I think we found some kind of Voice reincarnated as a Hunter.” Cole explained.

“What?” Nya shouted, Cole and Kai’s ears ringing with the volume of her voice.

“It’s a little hard to explain. I think a doctor working at this facility lost his son to Garmadon, and tried to rebuild him as a new Hunter model. I’ve got the blueprints so Jay can review them later, but we’re wondering if we should activate it.” Cole replied.

“Simple, activate it.” Lloyd answered.

“Why? That could be the dumbest thing they’ve ever done!” Jay exclaimed, concerned.

“But, if it’s a Voice, then it would know to trust others like it, no matter its programming.” Lloyd explained.

The armillary sphere began to jerk forward in Cole’s hands, trying to lead him forward towards the electrical sphere, and to the orb resting within it. His grip mostly prevented it from going anywhere, but he wasn’t sure he _ wanted _ to prevent it from rejoining it counterpart.

“Should we activate it? I mean, it _ was _ made by a Voice.” Kai reasoned, looking down at the device in Cole’s hands.

“There’s a chance that the doctor was forced to create another Hunter model that’s stronger than the previous one. If we do this, there’s no turning back.” Cole replied.

Kai glanced at the orb, surrounded by waves of blue lightning on all sides, then back to Cole. “Let’s do it. Voices stick to our own. I trust the guy.” Kai reasoned, nodding at Cole.

All at once, Cole released the armillary sphere, watching it shoot through the blue lightning to lock itself within the hole in the silver orb. “Please let this work.” Cole wished quietly.

The armillary sphere began to rotate at an amazing speed, generating a cyan form of energy that traveled throughout the orb, causing it to pulse and vibrate. In a huge burst of energy, this new cold power blasted Cole and Kai off their feet, leaving them lying on their backs against the floor. “Cole? Can you hear us? Kai? Are you alright?” Jay and Nya asked through their earpieces, the duo beginning to lose consciousness.

“We’re okay, just blacking….out.” Kai replied, his head hitting the floor. Cole barely registered a cold feeling crawling up his legs and waist before his vision completely faded to black. 


	6. Harmony

**Chapter 6: Harmony**

Cole opened his eyes to dull sensation of being shaken, slowly lifting his head to find Kai kneeling beside him, his sword drawn and blazing with golden flames. “Cole, get up!” the hothead cried, slapping him hard across the face. Cole’s eyes shot open with the force of the slap, his body jolting in shock.

“My head….” he moaned, his skull aching. The skittering and clanking of Hunter claws drew his attention to look around, the duo finding themselves surrounded on all sides from Hunters of varying size and strength.

A blue field was pulsating around their bodies in a dome-like fashion, blocking the Hunter attacks and reflecting them back. “What the hell is this?” Kai asked, reaching up to graze a hand against the blue field. Cole did the same, feeling a strange sensation, similar to cold waves, jolting through his body.

“It’s cold.” he stated, watching a puff of cold air leave his lungs. He turned to Kai, seeing the same from his fiery comrade.

“Yeah, really cold. It’s freezing.” Kai muttered, rubbing his arms in discomfort.

“Why are we here, and they’re out there?” Cole asked loud, looking to the Hunters outside the field. They seemed to be preoccupied with something behind them, less and less trying to attack the field containing the duo.

“Let’s try and get a look, okay?” Kai reasoned, helping Cole to his feet. Cole nodded, peeking over the crouching Hunters heads to see through the crowd.

At the far end of the mass, a figure stood, fighting valiantly with two bladed forearms. Cole recognised the figure instantly by his slender frame and glowing cyan eyes. “He’s here.” he whispered, drawing Kai’s attention.

“Who?” Kai asked. Cole pointed in shocked, speechless. Kai’s eyes moved to follow his gesture, growing wide upon sighting the white clad Hunter. Zane was killing dozens of Hunters at a time, his movements so graceful, like a dance.

Cole was mesmerized by his movements: how fluid and _ human _ they seemed. He was like a puppet on a string, being controlled by someone else, a master of the mannequin arts. Not only that, Zane was emitting his signal, a strange series of tones that excited Cole’s heart and drugged his brain.

“Cole, you’re drooling.” Kai smirked, patting his shoulder.

Instantly wiping his mouth, Cole composed himself, turning away from the Hunter. He began to pace, utterly drowned in Zane’s signal and his own thoughts. ‘Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!’ he chanted to himself as Kai watched him.

“It seems like you like him.” Kai stated, placing a hand on his hip.

“Like doesn’t even begin to cover it! It’s like his rhythm is drugging me, it’s intoxicating!” Cole groaned back, running his hand through his hair.

“That’s what it was like when I met Skylar.” Kai reasoned. Cole’s breath hitched in his throat and he looked at Kai with begging eyes.

“Should I…check?” Cole asked, gesturing to his sync bar.

Kai nodded in reply, smiling widely. “Do it. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re past ten percent already.” Kai replied. Taking a deep breath, Cole checked his sync bar, displaying the sync percentage between himself and Zane.

“Twenty two percent, already? We haven’t even engaged in an actual sync process.” Cole whispered, astounded. Kai placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling.

“Why don’t you try, then?” he offered.

“You think he’d want to? I mean, he’s a Hunter and everything. He might not want-” Cole rambled before Kai silenced him.

The hothead grabbed Cole by the arm, turning him toward the Hunter outside their field. “Look at him, Cole. You’re feeling his rhythm. I’m not feeling anything. It’s _ you _ and _ only _ you. Soak it all up and understand what it’s telling you. Then, do your best to perform accordingly. Challenge him.” Kai explained.

The waves the Hunter was giving off was growing weaker. They were calling him, and he had to respond. “Okay, challenge him, okay.” Cole repeated, steadying his thoughts. Taking a deep breath, he set a beat and began his performance:

** _“Baby, girl, would you come my way?_ **

** _Tell me all the things_ **

** _That you wanna say_ **

** _Baby, girl, you can say my name?_ **

** _Show me all the ways_ **

** _You can move that thing_ **

** _I don't wanna take nowhere_ **

** _I don't wanna waste your time_ **

** _Baby, girl, would you come my way?_ **

** _Baby, girl, would come for me?_ **

** _Baila, conmigo_ **

** _Anoche, contigo_ **

** _I wanna feel you against me_ **

** _All night, bodies connecting_ **

** _Baby, girl, yeah_ **

** _We can get it in_ **

** _I can be temptation_ **

** _You can be my sin_ **

** _I want the rush of your heartbeat_ **

** _Those eyes, I know that you want me_ **

** _Baby, girl, would you come my way?_ **

** _Tell me all the things_ **

** _That you wanna say_ **

** _Baby, girl, you can say my name?_ **

** _Show me all the ways_ **

** _You can move that thing_ **

** _I don't wanna take nowhere_ **

** _I don't wanna waste your time_ **

** _Baby, girl, would you come my way_ **

** _Baby, girl, would come for me_ **

** _Vamos, fiesta_ **

** _I want you, señorita_ **

** _I'm gonna kiss all your body_ **

** _Sharp breath, gripping the bed sheet_ **

** _Baby, girl, yeah, I'mma put it in_ **

** _I can make your bed shake_ **

** _I can be your sin_ **

** _Your hands scratching against me_ **

** _One look, I know that you want me.”_ **

After he completed the first run of the song, he felt Zane’s rhythm rising to match his, the Hunter taking the lead to repeat the second verse in an autotuned voice. Zane was trying to one-up Cole’s challenge and impress him with something better, forcing him to back down, and back _ off _ . ‘I’m not backing off.’ Cole vowed, pushing through the forcefield surrounding him and slashing a path to the Hunter.

He found himself standing beside the whitette, their eyes locked in a battle of wills and trust, their rhythms doing the same. Their unique rhythms were fighting for dominance, and Cole was losing. As an Earth rhythm, he was stronger than most and could put up a pretty good fight. He had to think of something, _ anything _ to show he could sync to Zane. He needed Zane to back down, to _ submit _. Mixing his rhythm with his voice, he began his song again, his influence doubling over the Hunter’s own:

** _“Baby, girl, would you come my way?_ **

** _Tell me all the things_ **

** _That you wanna say_ **

** _Baby, girl, you can say my name?_ **

** _Show me all the ways_ **

** _You can move that thing_ **

** _I don't wanna take nowhere_ **

** _I don't wanna waste your time_ **

** _Baby, girl, would you come my way?_ **

** _Baby, girl, would come for me?_ **

** _Baila, conmigo_ **

** _Anoche, contigo_ **

** _I wanna feel you against me_ **

** _All night, bodies connecting_ **

** _Baby, girl, yeah_ **

** _We can get it in_ **

** _I can be temptation_ **

** _You can be my sin_ **

** _I want the rush of your heartbeat_ **

** _Those eyes, I know that you want me_ **

** _Baby, girl, would you come my way?_ **

** _Tell me all the things_ **

** _That you wanna say_ **

** _Baby, girl, you can say my name?_ **

** _Show me all the ways_ **

** _You can move that thing_ **

** _I don't wanna take nowhere_ **

** _I don't wanna waste your time_ **

** _Baby, girl, would you come my way_ **

** _Baby, girl, would come for me_ **

** _Vamos, fiesta_ **

** _I want you, señorita_ **

** _I'm gonna kiss all your body_ **

** _Sharp breath, gripping the bed sheet_ **

** _Baby, girl, yeah, I'mma put it in_ **

** _I can make your bed shake_ **

** _I can be your sin_ **

** _Your hands scratching against me_ **

** _One look, I know that you want me.”_ **

As he sang, he offered a hand to the Hunter, his eyes full of conviction and determination. He wanted this to be an invitation into a relationship, not intimidation into one.

Zane seemed hesitant to accept his offer, but carefully slipped his hand into the muscular teen’s, engaging in a deadly dance. Cole did his best to entertain Zane with a healthy combination of dance moves, the Hunter easily twisting around him with his slender body. Their movements involved a series of slashes, kicks, and punches aimed at the gathering Hunters around them, their doubled force taking out their new enemies with ease.

As the last crowd Hunters fell, Cole looked up, seeing the final enemy Hunter poised to drop down on top of them from above. Taking Zane by the hip, he tossed him into the air, Zane twisting into a spiraling series of blades to slash through the Hunter dropping towards them, throwing its pieces all over the place. As he began to fall to the ground, Cole launched forward and caught him in a bridal-style slide, bringing them face to face.

Their eyes locked once more, assessing each other’s performance. “You are quite the dancer.” Zane stated softly, seemingly astounded with Cole’s physical ability.

“You’re pretty good, too.” Cole replied, heart pounding hard against his ribcage. It felt as if it was going to burst from his chest.

“Your heart is beating very fast.” Zane stated.

“I know. It’s beating for something.” Cole replied.

“What is it beating for?” Zane asked back, confused.

“For you.” Cole replied.

Hearing clapping from the other end of the room, the duo quickly scrambled apart, standing a few feet from each other just to be safe.

“My god, that was amazing to watch!” Kai laughed from the door frame.

“Thank you.” Zane answered quietly.

“It felt amazing.” Cole added, breathlessly.

"Let’s get out of here before more of these bastards show up.” Kai offered, vanishing beyond the door frame.

Taking it upon himself to be the leader, Cole slipped from the pile of Hunter bodies to the ground, Zane following him swiftly after. Kai stood beside his bike, waiting patiently for the duo to emerge from the factory, his helmet on his head.

“Nya gave me a call. I think you’re earpiece is fried, which is why you haven’t been picking up. Too many Hunter signals in the area overloaded it, and fried the circuitry. Anyway, Sensei said to bring Zane back to the hideout.” Kai explained.

Cole turned to Zane, who seemed nervous just standing next to the teen. “Are you okay with that?” he asked.

“I am.” Zane replied, nodding.

Kai slipped onto his bike, smirking mischievously at Cole. “Last one back to the hideout owes the other a drink!” he shouted, taking off into the Hanari District.

“Dammit, Kai! You can’t just do that!” Cole shouted after him, shaking a fist in the air.

Turning to his bike, then to Zane, Cole smiled softly. “Are you okay with riding on a hoverbike?” he asked.

“It is nothing new.” Zane answered.

Cole moved to seat himself on his bike, gesturing for Zane to sit behind him. “Good, get on.” he stated.

Zane bit his lip, carefully moving to tuck himself against Cole’s backside as he seated himself on the bike. “Comfortable?” Cole asked with a smirk.

“I am.” Zane answered.

“Alright, here we go.” Cole warned, hitting the gas. 


	7. Unison

**Chapter 7: Unison**

As the trio arrived back at the hideout, they were greeted by the sight of Jay, Lloyd, and Nya rushing up to them and wrapping them tightly in hugs. “Oh, thank god! The Hunters cut our signal so we couldn’t get to you!” Nya cried, wrapping her brother as tight as she could in her arms.

“It’s okay, sis, we’re okay.” Kai cooed, trying to calm her. Cole was taken aback when Jay basically leaped into his arms, crushing him in his shaking hands.

“I’m never going to forgive myself for letting you go out there.” he whispered, tears pooling down his cheeks.

Cole smirked to himself, patting the redhead’s back. “It’s alright, Jay. We’re fine. We bumped our heads once or twice, but we’re fine.” Cole replied firmly.

“Next time, I’m going with you.” the redhead answered, wiping his eyes on his blue sleeve. Lloyd smirked as Jay pulled away, wrapping the big guy in a hug himself.

“You didn’t break the bikes, did you?” he asked sarcastically.

“Nah. The only thing broken is my heart.” Cole replied with a smile.

“Has Wu come back yet?” Kai asked, wiping his eyes on his scarf.

“Yeah, he’s in his room, waiting for you two.” Lloyd replied, pointing to the dimly lit space on the other side of the living room.

“We shouldn’t keep him waiting. Jay and I’ll be starting dinner. Do you like to cook?” Nya asked, allowing the duo to pass through the small crowd to their Sensei’s “office”, while taking Zane to the kitchen.

Walking up to the door, Cole rapped his knuckles against the wood, waiting silently for Wu to reply. “Come in.” Wu’s warm voice called.

Nodding to each other, the duo entered, moving to sit on the floor in front of their elder. “It seems that the two of you have gotten yourselves into some trouble.” Wu began, his long beard drawing Cole’s attention. He was trying to keep his eyes on the floor, to show his respect, but it was hard.

“You could say that, Sensei.” Kai answered. Wu’s old eyes scanned over Cole and Kai’s battered forms before resting at his cup of steaming tea, signalling that he knew something of their adventures.

“The two of you have been beaten up. Not too much, but enough to be sore in the morning. Why is that so?” Wu asked.

“We were on a mission, Sensei.” Kai began.

“A mission. A mission for what?” Wu asked. Cole bit his lip, bringing his eyes to meet the old man’s.

“It was my fault, Sensei, I’m sorry. Someone made contact with me, asking for help, and I felt I couldn’t refuse. I led the team to follow my choice after we located who contacted me, and Kai and I ended up surrounded by Hunters.” Cole blurted, emptying his chest.

Wu nodded, sipping his tea. “I understand. How did this person contact you?” Wu asked.

“Some kind of psychic link? I don’t fully know myself, Sensei. He was in my head, I know that.” Cole answered.

“He? Have you met this person?” Wu asked.

“Only briefly.” Kai answered.

“His name is Zane Proto Julien. He was killed by Garmadon as a bargaining chip so his father would work for the tyrant without question. His father rebuilt him as a Hunter with a human brain, and left this note behind.” Cole explained, handing the note to Wu. The elder took a moment to read over the note, his eyes changing a fraction in size before they recomposed themselves.

“Doctor Julien was a good friend of mine. He was well trusted as a Voice in the field of technology, and someone who knew Garmadon’s systems. It….pains me to know that his son was murdered by Garmadon. I assume he was found at his workbench, then?” Wu asked, looking solemn.

“Yes, Sensei, he was. Hit by some shrapnel from a shell.” Kai replied.

“And his son? Did you find him alive?” Wu asked. Kai glanced at Cole, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, he found us, Sensei. More like saved us, but still. Cole had been hit in the head and we were surrounded, and he just dropped in and started slashing. He’s here.” Kai answered.

“I wish to see him. Kai, I must speak with Cole privately.” Wu stated, gesturing for Kai to be dismissed.

“Understood, Sensei.” Kai replied, moving to head out the door. Now alone, Cole began to sweat. He bit his lip, displaying his nervousness.

“Why did you have so much confidence in this person who contacted you, Cole?” Wu asked, raising an eyebrow at the youth.

“He was in my head, Sensei. Literally, speaking to me through some kind of internal system. I felt like an open book to him. Him to me, not so much, but still, it drew me to trust him.” Cole admitted.

“You understood the consequences of opening us to threat, yes?” Wu asked, Cole nodding silently.

“I couldn’t leave him out there. He’s one of us, Sensei. And we don’t leave our own behind.” Cole reasoned.

Wu put his tea down and leaned forward on his desk, looking Cole in the eye. “Would you repeat this dangerous action again?” Wu asked.

Cole bit his lip, steeling his heart. He lifted his eyes to meet Wu’s directly, locking his gaze with them in a battle of wills. “I would, Sensei. He’s the son of your friend, and a friend to me. Therefore, I wouldn’t leave him behind. If I had, who knows what Garmadon would have done to him.” Cole confessed.

Seeming satisfied with the youth’s answer, Wu smiled softly. “I thought you’d back down, Cole. Perhaps I was right in making you leader. Send him in, when you go out there.” Wu ordered.

Cole nodded, moving to stand. “And Cole? Do not doubt yourself. Whatever actions you make, just know the consequences. Don’t doubt the action, doubt the reaction.” Wu advised.

“Understood, Sensei.” Cole replied quietly.

Opening the office door and slipping out, Cole let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. He headed into the kitchen, finding Zane speed-cutting a series of vegetables. The Hunter was dressed in a pink apron, wearing it shamelessly as he helped cook.

“You look ridiculous in that.” Cole stated as he moved to sit on the counter.

“It is an apron, Cole, it is made for cooking, not for aesthetics.” Zane replied.

“My Sensei wants to see you. He’s in the room second from the left.” Cole stated.

“Understood.” Zane replied, slipping off the apron and moving towards the room. He stood at the door and knocked quietly, slipping inside a moment later.

As dinner was served and the family ate, Zane and Wu didn’t emerge from the office. Much later into the night, Cole found himself awaiting the moment when Wu let the poor Hunter go, just so he could see him again. He sat in his room, pretty isolated from the rest of the rooms in the subway hideout, when he heard a quiet series of knocks on his door.

“Come in.” he called from his bed.

Zane slowly opened the door, looking quite flustered and nervous. “What’s wrong?” Cole asked, sitting up on the mattress.

“Being that I have a power source, not a human heart, I am worried that I am incapable of feeling love.” Zane blurted.

“What makes you say that? If you feel love, then you feel love. It’s an emotion. It’s not measured by the presence of a heart, Zane.” Cole explained.

“I understand, but I am uncertain if _ what _ I am feeling _ is _ love. I questioned Sensei Wu about the sensations I am feeling, but he was unable to answer with one hundred percent certainty.” Zane replied.

Cole stood up, moving to stand in front of the Hunter. “Who do you think you’re feeling love for?” he asked.

Zane looked away, a blue blush coming to his cheeks. “You.” he replied.

“I’m _ very _ sure what you’re feeling is love, Zane.” Cole reasoned, taking a step forward.

Zane took a step back, backing himself against the wall. “Why?” he asked, glowing cyan eyes scanning Cole for signs of a threat.

Cole placed his hand next to Zane’s head, using his other to take hold of the Hunter’s chin, tilting his head up so their eyes could meet. “Because I’m feeling it, too.” he answered.

Leaning forward, Cole gently brought his lips to meet Zane’s, bringing him into a kiss. At first, Zane wasn’t replicating the kiss, but he quickly understood the gesture. “Cole?” Zane asked, pulling out of the kiss.

“Yeah?” Cole asked back.

“We have synced to one hundred percent.” Zane stated. Cole could feel Zane’s emotions beginning to flood into his system, so he flooded Zane’s with his own. He could quickly see the Hunter’s mind become a buzz of Cole’s rhythm and the sync between them, his eyes becoming glazed over and distant.

“Cole, I-I think I love you.” Zane blurted.

“I think I love you, too, Zane.” Cole replied, bringing the Hunter into another kiss. 

~ENDE


End file.
